Convera(R) Reports Results for the Second Quarter Ended July 31, 2008

VIENNA, Va., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Convera Corporation (Nasdaq: CNVR) -- www.convera.com -- a leading provider of vertical search services for publishers, today announced financial results for the three-month period ended July 31, 2008.

Revenue from continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 increased to $469,000 or 84% over the $255,000 in revenue recorded in the comparable period of last year and increased $ 67,000 or 17% over the $402,000 of revenue recognized in first quarter ended April 30, 2008.

As of July 31, 2008, a total of 46 Excalibur supported vertical search sites from 26 different publishers have been commercially launched. At January 31, 2008, 39 vertical search sites from 24 publishers had been commercially launched. Search traffic activity from the Excalibur supported vertical sites continued to grow, increasing 76% from 17.5 million searches in the first quarter to over 30.8 million searches in the second quarter ended July 31, 2008.

As of today, a total of 81 Excalibur supported vertical search sites are under contract with customers, 47 of these sites have been commercially launched and 34 of these sites are in development. These contracted sites represent publications in over 24 major vertical industries.

Convera is presently providing vertical search services to 31 different trade publishers. Patrick Condo, President and CEO of Convera, stated, "Our goal is to build the largest professional search network and the first half results are indicative of the progress we are making. We expect to continue to add customers, search sites and new vertical industries in the second half of this year to our existing portfolio, deepening our penetration of the business to business market."

The loss from continuing operations for the three-month period ended July 31, 2008, was $3.6 million, or $0.07 per share, (which includes $1.1 million in depreciation and stock compensation expenses which are non cash expenses and other income of $0.7 million that was previously recorded as deferred revenue) compared to a loss from continuing operations of $6.0 million, or $0.11 per share, (which includes $0.6 million in depreciation and stock compensation which are non cash expenses) for the comparable year-ago period and a loss from continuing operations for the three months ended April 30, 2008 of $5.4 million (which includes $1.6 million in depreciation and stock compensation which are non cash expenses).

The decreased loss reflects a reduction in staffing levels and Convera's efforts to discontinue non-strategic activities stemming from cost streamlining actions taken during fiscal 2008. Convera expects to continue to receive benefits from these actions in the coming quarters as a result of continued alignment of resources to pursue the on-line publishing and media marketplace.

Net loss for the three months ended July 31, 2008 was $3.6 million or $0.07 per share, which compares to a net loss of $6.2 million or $0.12 per share, for the comparable period of the prior year and a net loss of $5.4 million or $0.10 per share for the three months ended April 30, 2008.

Cash and investments as of July 31, 2008, totaled $27.4 million and does not include the $4.0 million held in escrow from the sale of the RetrievalWare enterprise search business. The amount held in escrow was received by Convera in August 2008 in accordance with the terms of the escrow agreement.

The attached financial information compares the results of operations for the three-months and six-months July 31, 2008, to the same period in 2007, and the balance sheet as of July 31, 2008 and January 31, 2008.

    The condensed, consolidated statements of operations for the Company for
the three months ended July 31, 2008 and 2007 appear below and are presented
in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States. All amounts, except per share amounts, are expressed in thousands of
U.S. dollars.




                                                        Three Months Ended
                                                              July 31,
                                                        2008           2007
    Continuing Operations:                          (unaudited)    (unaudited)
      Revenues:
      Hosted services                                   $469           $255

      Operating Expenses:
      Cost of revenue - hosted services                1,854          2,071
      Sales and marketing                                772          1,193
      Research and product development                 1,059            906
      General and administrative                       1,355          2,592
      Total Expense                                    5,040          6,762

      Operating loss                                  (4,571)        (6,507)

      Other income, net                                  945            478

      Net (loss) from continuing operations          $(3,626)       $(6,029)

    Discontinued Operations:
      Income(loss) from discontinued operations            -           (186)

      Net Loss                                       $(3,626)       $(6,215)

      Earnings(loss) per share - basic & diluted
      Continuing operations                           $(0.07)        $(0.11)
      Discontinued operations                              -          (0.01)
                                                      $(0.07)        $(0.12)

      Weighted average number of common
       shares outstanding - basic and diluted         53,327         53,177



    The condensed, consolidated statements of operations for the Company for
the six months ended July 31, 2008 and 2007 appear below and are presented in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
All amounts, except per share amounts, are expressed in thousands of U.S.
dollars.



                                                         Six Months Ended
                                                             July 31,
                                                        2008           2007
    Continuing Operations:
      Revenues:
      Hosted services                                   $871           $579

      Operating Expenses:
      Cost of revenue - hosted services                3,682          4,004
      Sales and marketing                              1,648          2,212
      Research and product development                 2,293          2,195
      General and administrative                       3,424          6,915
      Total Expense                                   11,047         15,326

      Operating loss                                 (10,176)       (14,747)

      Other income , net                               1,124            969

      Net (loss) from continuing operations          $(9,052)     $ (13,778)

    Discontinued Operations:
      Income(loss) from discontinued operations            -             20

      Net Loss                                       $(9,052)     $ (13,758)

      Earnings(loss) per share - basic & diluted
      Continuing operations                           $(0.17)        $(0.26)
      Discontinued operations                              -              -

                                                      $(0.17)        $(0.26)

      Weighted average number of common
       shares outstanding - basic and diluted         53,317         53,041

The condensed, consolidated Balance Sheets for the Company as of July 31, 2008, and January 31, 2008, appear below and are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted inthe United States. All amounts are expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars

                                              July 31, 2008   January 31, 2008
    Assets                                     (Unaudited)

    Current Assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents                   $27,421           $36,641

      Accounts receivable, net                        692               182
      Escrow, Prepaid expenses and other            4,996             3,796
        Total current assets                       33,109            40,619


    Equipment and leasehold improvements, net       4,509             4,913
    Other assets                                      609               835
        Total assets                              $38,227           $46,367

    Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
    Current Liabilities:
      Accounts payable                             $1,431              $699
      Accrued expenses                              1,847             2,282
      Deferred revenues                                 7               651
        Total Liabilities                           3,285             3,632

    Shareholders' Equity                           34,942            42,735

      Total liabilities and shareholders' equity  $38,227           $46,367

Convera(R) management will host a conference call to discuss the results on Thursday, September 11 2008, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Conference call participants should dial 866-202-4367 (domestic), 617-213- 8845 (international) and, when prompted, enter pass code number 82728522 at approximately 8:20 a.m. ET on September 11, 2008.

In addition, a non-interactive audio Web cast of the conference call will be available live. To access the Web cast, please go to Convera's Web site, www.convera.com and under "Company" and "Investors" click on the live Web cast.

For individuals unable to participate live, a playback of the call will be available following the conference call beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on September 11, 2008. To listen to the recorded conference, dial 888-286-8010 (domestic) or 617-801-6888 (international) and enter reservation number 46384079 when prompted. To access the Web playback, go to Convera's Web site, www.convera.com and under "Company" and "Investors," select the Web cast archive page. An archived playback of the call will be available as of September 18, 2008.

About Convera(R)

Convera is the leading provider of vertical search services for publishers. Convera enables publishers to generate additional revenue by creating customized search applications for specialist audiences under their own brand.

Convera vertical search applications can combine publisher proprietary content with an editorially vetted best of the Web for specific professional audiences, providing an authoritative and comprehensive search experience. Many of the world's largest publishers are working with Convera to accelerate their e-publishing strategies, meet growing online revenue goals and build loyal online professional communities.

This release, including any statements from Convera personnel, contains statements about Convera's future expectations, performance, plans, and prospects, as well as assumptions about future events. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including without limitation, business and economic conditions and trends; the ability to continue funding operating losses; fluctuations in operating results including impacts from reduced corporate IT spending and lengthier sales cycles; continued success in technological advances and development; possible disruption in commercial activities caused by terrorist activity and armed conflict, such as changes in logistics and security arrangements; reduced customer demand relative to expectations; competitive factors; and other risk factors listed from time to time in the company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from our expectations as the result of these and other important factors relating to Convera's business and product development efforts, which are further described in Convera's filings with the SEC. These filings can be obtained from the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements are based on information available to Convera on the date of this release, and Convera assumes no obligation to update such statements. Convera(R) and the Convera design logo are trademarks of Convera inthe United States and other countries.

SOURCE Convera Corporation

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